GEELONG premiership forward Mathew Stokes is facing a possible lifetime ban from AFL football if he is convicted of the trafficking charge laid against him on Wednesday.
Stokes was stood down by the Cats after he was arrested and charged with trafficking and possessing one gram of cocaine.
The 25-year-old told police he purchased the drug for friends visiting from Darwin but he didn't consume any of the cocaine.
Stokes was granted bail after facing Geelong Magistrates' Court on Wednesday afternoon and will reappear in court on March 12.
AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said under the World Anti-Doping Agency code - to which the AFL is a signatory - Stokes could be banned for life if found guilty of trafficking.
"Any charge of trafficking is a very serious matter and one that Geelong and the AFL takes extremely seriously," Anderson said.
"The AFL supports Geelong's decision to stand Mathew Stokes down until further notice. Under the WADA code, the standard penalties for trafficking range from four years suspension to a lifetime ban."
Anderson said the AFL was still seeking more details on the matter. He also added that the league was confident that no other players were involved.
GEELONG premiership player Mathew Stokes has been banned from the club until further notice after being arrested and charged with trafficking and possessing cocaine on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old small forward was granted bail after appearing in the Geelong Magistrates' Court. He is scheduled to reappear in court on March 12.
Stokes told police he purchased one gram of cocaine for friends visiting from Darwin but he didn't consume any of the drug.
Cats chief executive Brian Cook said in a statement the club was 'disappointed by the turn of events today'.
"Given the gravity of the charges we have decided that Mathew will be stood down from all club activity as we attempt to gather all the facts of this matter," Cook said.
"This is not a rush to judgment but a reflection on the seriousness of the situation."
"It is important for Mathew that he deals with legal issues at hand as his first priority."
"As we have in the past, the club will not rush to formulate a long-term determination of any penalty."
"Mathew is obviously very upset by what has happened and we'll give him a little time to gather his thoughts and then we'll sit down with him and work through the situation."
"The club has been in contact with the AFL throughout the day to ensure that they have been kept informed."
Stokes was questioned by detectives on Wednesday morning as part of a lengthy drug investigation in the Geelong area.
Acting Inspector Michael Baker said Stokes had been 'very helpful' with police inquiries.
No other Geelong players are under investigation.
Stokes' arrest came after a series of drug raids in Geelong last Friday which resulted in police seizing more than $3000 in cash and about $50,000 worth of drugs from four properties.
Taken with pick 61 in the 2005 national draft, Stokes has played 71 games and kicked 108 goals for the Cats.
He was a member of Geelong's 2007 premiership side but missed out on last year's grand final win over St Kilda.
GEELONG young key position prospect Mitch Brown will undergo surgery this week to remove the plate in his left leg as well as a bone spur.
Brown required the plate after he broke his leg last year while playing for the club's VFL side.
Cats' football operations manager Neil Balme said Brown would resume running in about six weeks and would be right to play within three months.
"The surgeon is pleased with the state of the ankle joint, which also suffered significant damage last year when Mitch was hurt," Balme said.
"The plate that was put in place along his fibula will be taken out and he will also have a bone spur that has developed between his tibia and fibula removed, as that has been causing him pain in the leg."
"Mitch will have a long career with us and the injury he suffered was significant, so we will not rush him back."
"He had some pain in the area recently and we sent him for more tests to ascertain what the issue was. After consulting with the surgeon it was agreed that this is the best course of action."
Brown was taken by Geelong with pick 15 at the 2008 national draft.
VETERAN tagger Cameron Ling has been named Geelong captain at a media conference at Skilled Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
The 28-year-old succeeds Tom Harley who retired after the Cats' 2009 grand final win over St Kilda.
Ling heads a leadership group which consists of Brownlow Medalists Gary Ablett and James Bartel, Corey Enright, Joel Corey, Joel Selwood, James Kelly and defender Harry Taylor.
Kelly and Taylor are the new additions to the group while Harley is the only player missing from the leadership team that led Geelong to last year's flag. No formal vice-captains or deupty vice-captains have been named.
"The captaincy is a tremendous honour, but my view and really the view of all of us at the club, is that leadership should be shared rather than always residing with the captain," Ling said.
"The strength of our team and club in recent years has been the number of strong leaders that we have had.'
"The leadership group has had 6-8 guys, but then look at the leaders outside that who also contribute with strong words and actions."
"People like Matthew Scarlett, Darren Milburn, Max Rooke, Paul Chapman, Cameron Mooney and others have also been instrumental in pushing the direction and values of the group."
"We’re lucky that we have a lot of strong leaders that enjoy the challenges that come with being senior players."
Recruited from the Geelong Falcons with pick 38 in the 1999 national draft, Ling has played 204 AFL matches, is a dual premiership player and was an All-Australian in 2007.
FORMER Geelong defender David Johnson has rejoined the Cats as a player development and conditioning assistant.
The 28-year-old, who called it quits at the end of last season after an 79 AFL games, will work with the club's younger players on skill development, mental preparation, rehabiliatation and conditioning.
He will also be a match-day runner.
Johnson said he was thrilled to be back at the club he represented as a player for eight games.
"I am very appreciative of the club for giving me this opportunity to start the next chapter of my life at the Geelong Football Club, and I am really looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead in the role," Johnson told gfc.com.au
"It's an area that really interested me when I was playing and as I got toward the end of my career I started looking in to it more closely."
"Luckily the club was looking to expand in that area and so an opportunity came up straight away."
Geelong's player development manager Ron Watt said Johnson was the ideal man for the role.
"David has been around the league for a long time and had to work very hard to achieve what he did in the game," Watt said.
"He can relate well to people and understands the game very well."
"David also overcame a number of injuries and he knows the frustration and rehab required to bounce back."
"He will have to deal with players at emotional times and his personality and demeanour will stand him in good stead."
GEELONG dual premiership ruckman Brad Ottens will be sidelined for at least a month after being injured in a boating accident.
The 29-year-old sustained cuts to his right hand which damaged tendons when he accidentally made contact with the propeller of the boat that he was water-skiing behind in the Victorian country town of Echuca on Tuesday afternoon.
He also suffered cuts to his arm and leg.
Ottens, who was initially treated in Echuca, underwent surgery on his injured hand in Geelong on Wednesday before being discharged on Thursday.
Cats football operations manager Neil Balme said Ottens was 'extremely lucky' to have walked away from the incident with relatively minor injuries.
"The injury to his elbow and leg required stitches but will heal relatively quickly. Brad is lucky that the cuts to his hand did not result in more serious injuries that would have sidelined him for a significantly longer period," Balme said.
"He suffered two cut extensor tendons in his right hand, and he has undergone surgery to repair the tendons. All the medical reports have him healed and resuming training in a month to six weeks."
After missing five months of senior football due to a serious knee injury sustained in round two this year, Ottens made his way back into the side and was a member of the Cats' 2009 premiership team.
Taken with pick two in the 1997 national draft by Richmond, Ottens managed 129 games for the Tigers after making his AFL debut in 1998.
He was traded to Geelong at the end of 2004 and has played 81 matches for the club, including the record-breaking grand final win over Port Adelaide in 2007.
FORMER Geelong two-time premiership captain Tom Harley's No.2 jumper won't be worn in 2010 after the Cats elected not to allocate it to one of their new players.
The club also chose not to use Matthew Egan's No.19 guernsey in the hope that he can return to the playing list following his rehabilitation program.
Egan, who hasn't played since seriously injuring his right foot in the final round of the 2007 home-and-away season, was delisted by Geelong in October.
Former Fremantle defender Marcus Drum, who joined the Cats via trade week, has been given No.23.
Geelong's first-round draft pick at the national draft - Daniel Menzel - will wear the No.10 jumper - a guernsey made famous by former premiership captain Fred Flanagan.
Second-round pick Mitch Duncan will don No.22, Allen Christensen takes on No.28, Nathan Vardy will wear the number 36 jumper while the Cats' last pick in the national draft Josh Cowan will pull on No.41.
The club's recent rookie selections Jack Weston (43), Ben Johnson (47), mature-age rookie James Podsiadly (31) and Jesse Stringer (49) have been allocated high numbers.
GEELONG defender David Johnson has announced his retirement from AFL football.
The 28-year-old, who played 79 games for the Cats after being taken with pick 81 in the 2001 national draft, said he had exceeded his own expectations.
"When I started out my goal was to just play one game," Johnson said.
"To have been able to play at Geelong for eight years, to play with my best mates and in a great team has exceeded what I could ever have hoped for. The coaches have been great, the club has been outstanding and I finish with no regrets."
While he didn't feature in the Cats' grand final wins in 2007 and 2009, he was a member of two VFL premiership sides and played in Geelong's NAB Cup premiership side in 2006.
Johnson plans to pursue an off-field role in football.
TWO-TIME Geelong premiership captain Tom Harley has announced his retirement from AFL football.
The 31-year-old said his battle-weary could no longer meet the demands of the modern game.
"I physically can't meet the requirements to play, to see out a season, a full season in the AFL," Harley said.
"Over the journey I think I've had five knee operations and when I first came (to Geelong) I was not in the best physical shape and to be able to hang on for 11 years and have the career that I've had is something that I'm super proud of."
Harley, who got married to Sydney-based publisher Felicity Percival two weeks ago, has been linked to a job at the new western Sydney team which is scheduled to enter the AFL in 2012 but he said he had no concrete plans at this stage.
"It's been a big couple of weeks with the football season winding up and my marriage and I just want to sit back and smell the roses for a bit," he said.
"There are certainly some opportunities and I would love to stay involved in footy in some capacity."
Despite falling two games short of his 200th game after managing just 14 appearances in 2009, Harley said he was leaving the game with no regrets.
"That's my lot, I had my chance to play 200 games this season and didn't get there," Harley said.
"It's game, set and match for me with the Geelong footy club as a player and I couldn't leave more content with my career at the club, where the club is right now and where the club's going in the future."
Originally drafted by Port Adelaide, Harley was traded to Geelong at the end of the 1998 season after just one game for the Power.
Harley took over as captain after the tumultous 2006 season and the club never looked back, winning 49 of 56 games under his captaincy and playing in three grand finals.
The Cats are yet to name Harley's replacement but Cameron Ling is believed to be the favourite to be named captain.
GEELONG has delisted five players including 2003 first-round draft pick Kane Tenace.
Along with Tenace, Dan McKenna, Scott Simpson, Adam Donohue and rookie Bryn Weadon were also axed.
Taken with pick seven in the 2003 national draft, Tenace managed just five games in 2009 to finish with a career tally of 59.
McKenna, Simpson and Donohue - the son of former Cats forward and 1976 Coleman medallist Larry Donohue - were selected in the 2007 national draft and all failed to play a senior game.
Meanwhile, mid-sized defender Jeremy Laidler has been elevated to the club's senior list.
Laidler was taken with pick 32 in the 2007 rookie draft and made his AFL debut against the Brisbane Lions in round 15.
The Cats have indicated that they will make further changes to their list ahead of the AFL's list lodgement deadline of October 31.
GEELONG has lost promising young ruckman Shane Mumford to Sydney but has secured the services of Fremantle defender Marcus Drum.
The Cats will receive pick 28 in the national draft for Mumford while they offloaded selection 49 for Drum.
Mumford, who was on a rookie contract at Geelong, has been offered a four-year deal reportedly worth $1 million.
Geelong's general manager of football operations Neil Balme said the club didn't have enough room in the salary cap to match the Swans' offer.
"The reality is that we could not and would not compete with the dollars that Shane has been offered," Balme said.
"It's well known that we want to keep our group together and all of the players have accepted that to do that they have to forego bigger offers from other clubs to achieve that goal. Shane has chosen not do that that, and while we are disappointed to see him go, we will not deviate from our philosophy."
Mumford played 21 games for Geelong after being identified by the club when he was playing country football in Bunyip in country Victoria.
Drum - the nephew of former Geelong rover and Fremantle coach Damien Drum - managed 22 appearances for the Dockers after being taken with the number 10 pick in the 2005 national draft.
Balme believes there is a place for Drum in the Cats' line-up.
"We see Marcus as a versatile player that can fit into our structure. He has played some good games at Fremantle and we feel that his best football is still ahead of him," he said.
"Marcus is only 22, and is a quality person. He was a top 10 draft pick just four years ago, and has talent and a good work ethic, and sees the opportunity to play as the most important thing given our tight salary structure."
THE jumper worn by Geelong young gun Joel Selwood in the Cats' grand final win over St Kilda has been found among a collection of sporting memorabilia worth $30,000.
Selwood and fellow midfielder James Bartel had their jumpers stolen in the days after the win over the Saints last month and made a public plea for their return.
Bartel's guernsey is still missing but police recovered Selwood's jumper, a bag and equipment belonging to dual premiership ruckman Brad Ottens and a limited edition photograph of Cats legends Polly Farmer and Gary Ablett in a raid on a home in the Geelong suburb of Bell Post Hill on Saturday morning.
Police also found several framed and signed Geelong jumpers.
Detective Senior Sergeant Dave McTaggart said a 43-year-old man was helping police with their enquiries but no charges have been laid.
TonyK
Cibbuano
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